FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

Next Steps in U.S.-Russian Diplomacy Following Summit

July 24, 2018 (EIRNS)—President Trump tweeted another aggressive “Fake News be damned” message on Monday in support of the Helsinki summit, writing that

“when you hear the Fake News talking negatively about my meeting with President Putin, and all that I gave up, remember, I gave up NOTHING, we merely talked about future benefits for both countries. Also, we got along very well, which is a good thing, except for the Corrupt Media!”

His Press Secretary Sarah Sanders reported to the self-appointed “Fourth Estate” hounding her at the White House briefing that

“the only specific agreement that was made [at the summit] was that the two national security teams from both the United States and Russia would continue at a working level, these discussions. I can tell you that Ambassador Bolton plans to have a meeting—a follow-up with his counterpart from Russia next month, in addition to meetings with other European allies to further those discussions.”

For his part, President Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed to reporters today that a meeting between Bolton and Russian officials is planned for August, “to continue discussing the outcome of the Helsinki summit and consider the prospects for future cooperation in a number of fields,” although where the meeting will be held has not been confirmed.

As for President Trump’s offer to hold a second Presidential summit in Washington “at the end of the year,” Ushakov reported that Bolton had conveyed that offer, but “practical steps to prepare the meeting haven’t started yet,” TASS reported today.

“There are also other options that our leaders may consider, which include the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. Putin and Trump may also meet at other international forums they will participate in; such possibilities will surely be discussed.”

Ushakov, asked at his press conference to say more about how President Trump raised Russia’s alleged 2016 election interference in the Helsinki summit, refused to answer, citing “heated” U.S. reactions to the summit.

“You know what the situation surrounding the meeting’s outcome is like in America, so we need to wait for things to settle down and then we will be able to discuss these matters in a business-like manner,”

Ushakov said.

Actions such as the Department of Justice’s July 15 arrest of Russian national Maria Butina on trumped-up “Russian influence” charges, and then July 18 ruling to deny her bail, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called “unacceptable” in his Saturday, July 21 phone call with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and the gratuitous attack on Russian actions in Syria which State Department’s nasty geopolitical press spokeswoman Heather Nauert stuck into her read-out on that call, also introduce complications in the needed post-summit follow-up.